Unified sole arch support



vSept. 15, 1936. H. L W|||TMAN 2,054,151

UNIFIED SOLE ARCH SUPPORT Filed April 29, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 15, 1936. 1 .wHiTMAN 2,054,151 v UNIFIED SOLE ARCH SUPPORT Filed April-29, 195e 2 sheets-sheet l2 Patented Sept. l5,- 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE UNIFIED son: Anon surroa'r Hyman L. Whitman. Bridgewater, assignor to Hood Rubber Company, Ine., Watertown, Mass., a'corporation oi.' Delaware Application April 29, 1936. Serial No. '16,989

As claims. (c1. as dir This invention relates to a unified sole Aarch support particularly adapted to use in tennis shoes and the like although its application may be carried over into all types of footwear.

'I'he present application is a continuationin part of my now pending application Ser..No. 710,863 led February 12, 1934 and is an improvement on U. S. Patent No. 1,938,127 granted to me December 5, 1933 for Arch supporter.

In my earlier patent, referred to above, conil directly underthe os calcis andabutting thereagainst a resilient member along areversely curved line indicative of the area of sensitivity of the plantafascia tendon. The resilient element is adapted to act as a partial supporter and exer`v ciser for the plantafascia tendon and the metatar- Sus. Similar principles of arch supporting are to be understood as being made use of in` my present device in which somewhat different structure is provided. v

30, One of the developments of this type of arch is the rapplication of its principle to sole construction for rubberY sole footwear and' in particular tennis shoes. In this connection it has been found that improvements may bemade with respect to the construction and operation of. the composite arch structure by reducing the number of separate elements present.

There is some objection to disposing two separate elements on a tennis shoe sole due to 'dif- 40 lculty encountered in maintaining a solid durable stantially non-resilient element adapted to be' associated'therewith.

Another object is a unified sole arch` support comprising a moulded sole with an arch portion therein.

and a separate resilient element adapted to be"V associated therewith. v Y

Another object is a substantially non-resilient inner sole having an arch supporter portion moulded therein. 5

Another object is a resilient inner sole member having an arch supporter portionmoulded therein.

Other objects and novel features comprising the construction and operation of my invention 10 will appear as 'the description ofthe same progresses. In the drawings illustrating the preferred ein bodiment of my invention,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of my im- 15 proved sole arch support ,as viewed from the up per side.

. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross section taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1. v

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross section taken on 20 the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a transverse cross section taken onthe line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Figi 5 is a central longitudinal cross section of a completed shoe partly broken away and show- 25 ing the sole arch construction associated therewith, the hard element being inserted against the resilient' moulded portion and occurring somewhat therebelow when the weight of a foot is not disposed thereon.` l 30 Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 with the difference that a foot has been diagrammaticaily shown disposed thereon with a consequent flattening of the raised resilient portion.

Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal cross section of ,35 a sole having the arch construction integrally associated therewith, and disposedv thereongin side elevation is a foot skeleton with the plantafascia tendon indicated therein and the esh outline and shoe outline appearing in broken lines.' 40

Fig. 8 is a perspective showing of a substantially nonresilient element to be associated with the member shown in Fig. 1.

' Fig. 9 is aA modication of Fig.v1'showing theV sole arch construction as an integral portion oi! 45 a'unied sole arch. A

1 Fig.a 10 is a'view similar to Fig. 1 indicating a sole member formed from a substantially nonresilient material and having a heel arch portion integrally formed therein.

Fig. 11v is a view similar to Fig. 2 and further illustrates the heel arch portion integrally formed Fig. 1 2 is a view in perspective showing a separate resilient arch portion adaptedto be located 55 yahead of the integral heel portion illustrated in Figs .`10 and 11.

Fig. 13 is a cross section taken on the line I3-I3 of Fig. 10.

Fig.y 14 is a cross section taken on the line I4- I4 of Fig. 10. i

Fig. 15 is a view similar to Fig. 5 with reference to the heel arch portion.

Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. 6 likewise illustrating the integral heel construction and i Fig. 17 is a view similar to Fig. 9 also referring to the integral heel arch construction.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, Fig.

1 indicates in plan view a moulded sole,l or a stood as appearing only-for purposes of a dia.-

grammatic showing and description as noreal line of demarcation is present. The higher part.

of this formation II occurs at the inner border I3 and reaches its greatest thickness at the point of intersection, indicated by the arrow I5, of

the reversely curved line portion I4 with the inner border I3.

' lI6 indicates a heel area which has the same thickness as the sole normally, and is recessed away from the formation II to form the reversely curved edge I4a as shown in Fig. 2. This edge diminishes in height vfrom the point of intersection I5 to merge with thethickness of lthe sole normally at the point denoted by the arrow. I1 shown in Fig. 1. It is apparent that the same receding effect takes place in the nonresilient element from the point 2I towards the rear of the heel.

It is pointed out that all of the material comprising the sole I8 may be moulded as one piece and may comprise-a resilient spongy rubber sd v that the formation II may be of a soft yielding nature. This formation II is adapted to contact the sensitive plantafascia area of a foot along the reversely curved line I4 as illustrated in'Fig. 7. This relation is-maintained whether a separate sole unit is employed, as'shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 or a solid construction such as is shown in Figures 7 and 9 indicating a solid sole 34.

In Fig. 8 there has been shown 'a perspective view of a hard element I8 formed of one or more pieces of a substantially non-resilient material such as leather r hard rubber. The element I8 has provided a reversely curved edge I9 shaped coinidently with respect to the edge I 4a, -and further is formed with an inner raised portion tapering outwardly to a feather edge 28.- This element I8 is'liadapted to be located` upon the area I6 and'iastened bysome adhesive means to-- the sole III with the edge I9 abutting the edge I4a in a compact manner 'as shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7 and 9, and the feather edge 20 merging with the normal thickness of the sole III.

y It is to be noted with respect to this abutting of the hard element thatthe high point 2I of the hard element is normally the point I5 of lthe raised resilient portion when abutment hasl been effected als shown in Figs. 5K and 8, and this -acertain amount of resiliency raoiuausi way along the edge I4a.

As previously cited one of the advantages from the present type of construction is increased stability and accuracy in the application of the point I5 `and the related reverse curve I9 to the arch of a foot disposed in such va. shoe. In an effort to further .clarify the effect obtained, Fig.

7 has been addedwhich indicates a foot skeleton in association with the sole arch support. The skeleton includes the ankle bone 23, the tripod construction comprising the os, calcis 24, the astragulus 26 and the scaphoid 25, together with the cunieform 21, the metatarsus v2li and phalanges 29. Associated with the -skeleton has been shown/'the plantafascia tendon 30 surrounding the skeleton; the flesh outline appears as the broken line 3l. l'

The center of weight distribution has been .found to be at a point indicated by the plummet line 32 and this point determines the exact location of the point I5. It should be noted in this respect that the plantafascia tendon .makes a very definite upward swing just before it crosses the plummet line which results in the disappearance of sensitivity at precisely this point so that the need for maintaining an accurate application of the reverse curve II4 may be better appreciated. Bordering u pon the area of sensitivity as determined by the position of the plantafascia tendon, the non-resilient element provides a supporting effect along the reversely curved line I4. The result of such a supporting ture of these latter figures performs substantially the same function and provides'the same combination sole and arch supporting eiect. These ncationshown in Figs. 1-9 inclusive. The struciigures show the heel portion of the arch construci tion moulded therein, or otherwise formed'as an integral part ofthe sole, the arch portion and sole being constructed from a material somewhat less resilient than that used for similar parts in the modification of Figures 1-9 inc. In this case that portion ofthe arch structure which must have is provided as a separate element. I

Fig. 10 indicates a sole 3B, similar to that sole illustrated in Fig. 1, composed of a material which may be of a substantially non-resilient character. The sole 36 may be constructed with a raisedmoulded heel portion as 31 which is, as in the modification shown in Fig. 1, similarly re- 1essed along areversely curved edge 38. The highestpoint as 39 occurs at the inner border 40 and the raised formation tapers downwardly to.

the normal thickness of the sole as at point 4I- andin the direction of the outer border 42.

In Fig. 12 there has been shown a separate arch curring at the inner border40 and receding towards the outer border 42. The height o! this element at the point 39 will exceed the height of the portion 31 at this point as was the case before.

Figures 15, 16, and 17 further illustrate the application. of this modication of the combination sole and arch support to an inner sole and a complete sole 45 as described with the iirst modiiication. In either case the element 43 will be separately secured to the combination member by some desirable means as by utilizing an adhesive.

There are several advantages from using these alternative combination structures. In one case the resiliency of rubber is made use of and in the other the greater desirability of some less resillent material such as leather for contact with the foot may be realized. With both modliications a cheaper and more durable construction is possible the application of which may range over any type of footwear.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A combination sole and arch support member comprising* a sole having a moulded raised portion located on its upper side and forming a part of said arch support structure, said'raised portion recessed from the inner border towards the outer border of said sole to form a reversely curved edge thinned to converge with the normal thickness of the said sole, a separate arch element located on said sole and-coincidently abutting said reversely curved edge. and said mounted arch portion and said separate arch portion being of unequal heights and resiliencies with the greatest point of difference occurring at the inner border of said sole and tapering downwardly towards the said outer border.

2. A combination sole and arch support member comprising an inner sole having a moulded raised portion located on its upper side, said raised portion recessed at its rear from the inner border towards the outer border to form a reversely curved edge skived to converge with the normal thickness of the said inner sole, a non-resilient heel element located on said inner sole and coincidently abuttingfv said reversely curved edge, said raised portion being substantially higherthan the heel element with the greatest point of difference' occurring at the inner border of said Vinner sole and tapering downwardly towards said outer border, lsaid inner sole being adapted to present ab resilient surface to the exact, sensitivity area of the plantafascia tendon'oi a foot located thereon.

3. A combination sole and arch support construction for tennis shoes comprising a tennis shoe sole providedrwith a raised portion on its upper side, said raised portion having a. high point adjacent the inner border of said sole and skived outwardly therefrom to merge with the normal y thickness of said sole, and a hard element located on said sole, said raised portion recessed at its rear tolorm a reversely curved edge skived from the inner border outwards, 'and said hard element coincidently skived and abutted against said reversely curved edge.

4.In a resilient inner sole member recessed at its rear to form a reversely curved edge skived from the inner border outwards, a heel element, being formed from a material substantially less resilient than that comprising said inner sole, and coincidently skived and abutted against said reversely curved edge, said heel element having a vertical dimension less than that of the reversely curved edge portion ofthe inner sole member.

5 A resilient inner sole'member recessed at its rear to form a reversely curved edge skived from the inner border outwards., said reversely curved edge adapted to border upon the plantaiascia sensitivity area of a i'oot located upon said sole, the heel portion of said sole having a thickness less than the thickness ofthe reversely curved 'edge portion of the inner sole.

6. A combination sole and arch support construction for shoes and the like comprising a resilient sole raised at its rear to form a reversely curved edge skived from the inner border outwards,;a heel element belngformed from a material substantially less resilient than that comprising said inner sole, and coincidently skived and abutted against said reversely curved edge, said heel element having a thickness less than that oi the reversely curved edge portion of the saidinner sole.

7. A combination sole `and arch support construction for shoes and the like comprising a relatively non-resilient sole raised at its rear to form a reversely curved edge skived from the inner border outwards, a resilient arch element, being formed from a material substantially more resilient than that comprising said inner sole and coincidently skived and abutted against said reversely curved edge. said arch element having a thickness greater than that of the reversely curved edge portion of the said sole at its highest point.

8. An improved sole arch support for shoes comprising a relatively non-resilient base formed with a rear raised portion skivedoutwardly'towards the outer border, the front of said raised portion recessed toprovide a reversely curved edge diminishing towards the outer border, and a resilient element coincidentally abutted against said reversely curved edge and similarly skived outwardly, the said resilient element having a vertical thickness greater 'than that of the said raised portion.

mfMAN n WHITMAN. 

